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Devastating Revelations
Devastating Revelations Episode Six, Season Seven, of Cold. Enjoy <3 This is focused on Storm, Shade, Brownhare, Duskshadow, and Tessa. Devastating Revelations “Duskshadow, why are you staring intently at a tree? We’re supposed to be searching for clues you know?” Tessa prompted. The brown tom frowned, “I am looking for clues, Tessa.” “Yes because trying to decipher the tree’s bark is looking for clues,” Tessa rolled her eyes, “You’re not going to find anything there.” Duskshadow let out a frustrated sigh, “It looks different, okay? I’m trying to figure out why.” Tessa glanced back, “And how would you know that the tree looks different? You could be mistaken, for all you know.” Duskshadow didn’t reply and continued to study the tree, “There are abstract lines here, Tessa, and a tree doesn’t have these markings. The Eagles used to come around here all the time, and we practically memorized the layout of the trees.” Tessa crossed over to examine the lines herself, “They look normal,” she frowned, “I bet the next tree has the same lines.” “''No'', look deeper,” Duskshadow nudged her, “The lines are definitely abnormal.” Tessa narrowed her eyes, “Are you sure you don’t need a rest or something? We’ve been searching since we left the island and the sun is starting to set already.” Duskshadow shook his head, “In the Eagles-and even in Frosty’s group-we were accustomed to studying land features (especially trees). Perhaps you’re not used to seeing the ways trees are carved by nature, so you don’t see the different line patterns. But something’s amiss here.” “That’s why we’re investigating.” “You go look at the next tree,” Duskshadow ordered, “See if there’s anything different about it.” Tessa blinked, “And how am I supposed to tell?” “Just look hard at it,” Duskshadow pushed her forward, “I’m trusting you to do this, Tessa.” “I’m not,” Tessa mumbled, reluctantly walking towards the next tree to examine the bark, “But I’m telling you, they all look the same. I’m not sure what you mean by the lines are different…” Duskshadow paid no attention to the ginger she-cat and focused all his attention on the tree before him. “There’s gotta be something here,” he murmured to himself, “Surely there’s a reason for the lines to be here.” He examined the bark thoroughly, his brow furrowed. “Hey, Duskshadow!” Tessa called to him. The brown tom didn’t answer. He began to walk slowly around the trunk of the tree. Hm, the marks are only on the side facing the valley. Why not on the back side, where cats won’t notice it? Surely they anticipated the fact that there could be cats who know the difference between marked trees and trees that have been untouched. “Duskshadow, I kind of need you to look at me to…” Tessa’s voice faded back into the background as Duskshadow examined the bark even closer. It’s weird because it’s nothing intricate to figure out. The lines obviously mean something, so it’s probably a secret code. Now that I’ve been looking at it long enough, there are lots of different lines on here. Some are short, and some are long. They’re not all the same length, but all of them are going in the same direction. That has to be some kind of key… “For StarClan’s sake, Duskshadow, can’t you just turn around and stop staring at the tree like you’ve fallen in love with it?” Tessa’s annoyed voice sounded in Duskshadow’s ear. He turned, half frustrated that she kept interrupted him, “Tessa, I’m conducting an investigation here. If you’re just going to bug me all day about-” He gaped at her, “What in the world-?” “Just look at it,” Tessa breathed out, “This has to be worth a lot more than your lines.” In front of them, cleverly hidden under a bush, was a set of lines with other symbols next to them. ~ “It can’t be a coincidence that they drew me and Shade,” I frowned at the tree, “They must have been planning something.” “The picture looks fairly old,” Crowheart observed. “How do you know?” He pointed at the bark that was peeling off, “The tree is old, and older trees have bark that are harder to carve on. It rots easily, so they couldn’t have chosen this tree if it was this old. Also, the markings are faded.” He drew a line on another tree to prove his point, “They must have drawn it when you were little.” I blinked, slightly impressed by Crowheart’s knowledge. “We have to see if there’s more. There’s something I want to check out too.” Crowheart hesitated, “What about Sunny and the others? They told us to stay in this area, they won’t want us to wander off.” “This is important,” I promised, “I think I can find out where more of these pictures are. Just…follow me.” Crowheart nodded and merely trailed after me. I headed towards the old Thunderpath that was far outside ThunderClan territory. I remembered running through this path after Shade, who was trying to catch Comet. Finally, I reached the Thunderpath and examined the trees. “It’s gotta be here somewhere…” “What are you looking for?” I didn’t reply, too engrossed with my search. Crowheart followed my example and started to stare intently at the trees around us. “I found something,” he mewed softly. I doubled back to where he was standing and frowned, “That’s weird… that’s not a picture of anyone, and it’s just a bunch of lines.” “It looks like it’s part of the tree too,” Crowheart agreed, “But these kind of trees don’t have lines like this.” I agreed. The trees around us were trees with pale, smooth barks. “What kind of code is this?” I muttered. Crowheart shrugged, “We ought to look around to see if there’s anything to tell us what’s going on.” “Yeah, guess so.” It took us four minutes to find the hidden code. It was situated under a bush next to the tree, and it showed us everything we needed to know. ~ Shade hated Sunny with a passion. She was making the search so much more difficult. Suddenly, she wished that she had chosen to go with Crowheart rather than this snide she-cat. “You know, you guys act like you’re all high and mighty, but Crowheart and I are only doing this because-” “Just please be quiet,” Brownhare snapped, “We’re looking for clues, not blabbering about why we should or should not have an alliance.” Sunny glared at the brown tom, but Shade stepped in, “He’s right,” she paused, “You may think we’re at fault for treating you so harshly, but remember you were the ones who have caused us a lot of pain and sorrow. I think it’s only fair that we do the same.” The golden she-cat sniffed, “Why should I listen to you anyways? Aren’t you that she-cat who lost her mind?” Shade stiffened visibly and opened her mouth to retort. Brownhare swiftly pushed her back and stared calmly at Sunny. “You have no right to say anything about Shade,” he expostulated, “She’s very level-headed and she’s probably better at taking care of a situation than you are. Just do your part and we can be done.” “Yeah and I’m assuming they trust your word so well.” Brownhare didn’t flinch. “The past is the past. None of us can take back what we’ve done. We can only live to correct our mistakes.” Sunny eyed him malevolently, but stalked away. “Thanks,” Shade murmured quietly. Brownhare gave her a long look, “I’d do it anytime for you.” Even though she knew she should still be cautious and wary around the brown tom, Shade felt the need to lean on him. “You know…the others are wrong about you,” she murmured, “You’re not the cat they thought they were judging.” “Yes I am, Shade,” he mewed bitterly, “And I can’t change that.” Shade sagged a bit as they trailed after Sunny. “You’re not a traitor at all. You did what you thought was right.” “Yeah and look where that got me.” “You did it to protect me!” Brownhare turned his head to stare at her, “Did that convince them? Did that even help you change your mind?” “Change my mind about what?” Brownhare looked away, “About me. About everything I’ve done and what has been broken between us.” Shade blinked at him, a bit surprised at his approach. “I don’t like to think about that,” she admitted, “I like to think that it’s not something I can control, and try to start anew.” “Like I said,” the brown tom murmured, “I can’t change what I’ve done. It’ll be awhile before they forgive me anyways.” “That’s not true,” Shade protested. “You know it is!” Brownhare snapped, causing her to flinch, “I’m sorry, but you’ve seen the looks on Storm’s face; she wants nothing to do with me. She won’t even consider my opinion on anything!” “One mistake can change everything,” Shade mewed softly, “And that’s the truth.” Brownhare gazed at her, and she felt his sorrow and anguish. “Yeah, one mistake can prevent a lifetime together.” Shade couldn’t find an answer to that. ~ “We need to figure this out immediately,” Tessa knelt down in front of it, “Look, the first symbol looks like a bird.” “Okay…maybe it just means bird,” Duskshadow suggested. “And the second one looks like an ‘x’, doesn’t it?” Tessa added, “These symbols are pretty easy to decipher.” Minutes later, Duskshadow and Tessa had figured out the entire key. “What do they all mean though?” Duskshadow frowned, “Why are there lines and symbols…? Oh…” Tessa’s eyes widened and she hurried to the tree. “I’ll call out the lines and you tell me the symbol!” “Land… ‘x’…conquer… ‘x’…cats…living…territory…” Tessa narrowed her eyes, “That makes no sense!” Duskshadow shook his head, “No it does, Tessa, let’s make it into a sentence. Land is pretty obvious, it means the Clans I guess. The ‘x’ might mean ‘not’.” “Or it could mean destroy.” Duskshadow blinked, “Okay…so ‘Land destroy conquer destroy cats living territory’. That doesn’t make much sense.” Tessa closed her eyes, “Well it kind of does if you piece it together, filling in some blanks. ‘Land: destroy and conquer. Destroy cats living in the territory.” Duskshadow smiled wryly, “You’re brilliant.” “Yeah, I think I know that,” Tessa grinned. Duskshadow’s smile faded quickly, “But even though we have this message, it’s not good news. We have to warn the others about this.” Tessa nodded, “Yeah, we do.” ~ “Have you deciphered the message yet?” I asked, tipping my head, “We have to hurry and head back to Shade and the others soon.” “Yeah, I think so.” “Okay, let’s go.” We turned and hurried back. Shade and the others were waiting impatiently for us. “Where did you guys go?” Shade demanded, “We have to head back soon to meet up with Duskshadow and Tessa.” “Did you find anything?” My sister shook her head, “There was nothing out there.” Crowheart and I exchanged looks, “We found something.” Brownhare tilted his head, “What was it?” I shot him a withering glare before replying, “I want to meet with Duskshadow and Tessa before revealing the message we saw. It’s rather important.” Brownhare returned my stare with calm eyes. “Let’s go,” I mewed hastily, turning to hurry forward. “Storm,” Brownhare’s quiet voice stopped me, “Can I have a word with you?” Shade glanced at him worriedly before taking the lead. I had no choice but to join him in the back. “What did you really find that’s making you so nervous?” “I’m not nervous.” Brownhare shook his head, “Don’t lie to me, Storm, I can see it in your eyes. You’re afraid of something you found. What did you find?” I glared at him, “Why should I trust you with that information? How do I know you’re not going to feed it to the enemy?” Brownhare sighed, sounding frustrated, “Look, I know you’re angry, but I think I’ve proven myself enough.” I took a deep breath, “No you haven’t.” He looked away, “You’re the opposite of Shade.” “What do you mean?” I asked hotly, narrowing my eyes, “Do you want me to be sympathetic like my sister? Her judgment is biased, based on the fact that she likes you. And here’s the truth: I don’t want to trust you yet because I can’t.” “I knew you’d say that,” Brownhare began to walk away, faster now, “But one day you’ll have to let the past go.” “I can’t change what you did, Brownhare.” “But you can change what you think.” ~ When we were all gathered at the island, I spoke first, “We found something rather suspicious while we were out there.” “Same here,” Duskshadow agreed. Shade shook her head, “Nothing on our side.” Brownhare prompted, “Well, what did you guys find?” “A message,” I mewed. Duskshadow gave me a strange look, “Did you find the same thing?” Duskshadow merely nodded. “Let’s hear yours first.” “Well,” I took a deep breath, “It was two short sentences. And it said… “'Land: Destroy and conquer. Destroy cats living in the territory.'” The End. Category:Fan Fictions Category:Cchen3's Fanfics Category:Cold